Chimerica

By Lucy Kirkwood. Directed by Lyndsey Turner.

A co-production with the Almeida Theatre.

WORLD PREMIERE

Tiananmen Square, 1989. As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe – a young American photojournalist – captures a piece of history.

In New York, 2012 Joeis covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labour and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive?

Writer Lucy Kirkwood NSFW (Royal Court), It Felt Empty When The Heart Went At First But It Is Alright Now (Clean Break at the Arcola) and director Lyndsey Turner Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Donmar Warehouse), Posh (Royal Court and West End) make their Almeida debuts with Chimerica, a provocative new play which examines the changing fortunes of two countries whose futures will come to define our own.

Chimerica is presented in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Jean Doumanian and the Almeida Theatre.